User blog:Aviivix/Where the Script Format Fails
Alright, before anything I'm going to say right now that this is not aimed at any one person, but rather my opinion of the script format '''of writing. Please do not think this is about you if you make script-based stories. It's just my take as to how the script format fails compared to prose. '''If you enjoy script, more power to you, you have every right in the world to enjoy it and I'm not telling you to stop enjoying it, but this is a general overview of how I believe, in a technical aspect, script fails to convey what prose can. Personally, I really could never stand script-based stories. I feel like they don't work, mostly because they aren't a sound storytelling method. Scripts are meant to be the outlines to film, animation, plays, etc. so I never thoguht they really worked just reading them. Even in Shakespeare, I could never shake ''the feeling of incompleteness reading the plays as stories. The big question is why don't they work as well written out? It's the same story, right? Well, it's all down to the medium. When writing a script, it's an outline. Scripts are the sketches to the finished drawing, and that's because when writing a script, you're writing for a medium that will use your '''senses'. Mostly audio-visual 'things like film and TV, but even radio broadcasts use your senses. You can hear an agonizing, blood-curdling scream and feel the weight of it. You can see how beautiful the sunset is. The imagery is already there, because you're actually seeing it and hearing it, and sometimes even feeling it with good use of bass. In writing, however, you're limited. The viewer isn't given any means of actually knowing what's happening, so you have to describe it in the most vivid way possible. A script is made with the intent to give the imagery in the form of physically appealing to the senses. The task of creating an immersive story and getting the viewer invested in the setting isn't up to the words, but to the audio and video. Hearing the crackling of lightning, and seeing a mighty storm is what conveys the scene to the viewer. But there ''is ''no crackling of lightning to be heard, or mighty storm to be seen in writing. The task of creating vivid imagery and immersing the reader in the setting is up to the words. Prose allows for much more detailed explainations and setup of a scene, being able to show emotion and give the reader a vivid picture in their mind of what the scene looks like. Prose allows for an author to push intense scenes and really make the reader ''feel ''the scene. Your goal is to make the reader feel like they're there, and thoroughly understand the emotions of the characters and tone of the scene. Tell me, which paints a better picture in your mind about this scene: 'SPOILERS AHEAD! READ THE DEAD ZONE (CHAPTER 1) BEFORE CONTINUING! Scout: '*rod to wing breaks and flips backwards* Atrix! *tries to flap wings but starts falling through the sky* '''Scout: '*thinking* This is it, this is the day I die... 'Jet: '*grabs Scout* 'Scout: '*mumbles* Atrix...? 'Jet: '''We're not dying today! *flapping wings hard* Fix your suit! You're too heavy, I can't keep this up for long! '''Scout: '*rod breaks off* *reaches for a rod* I can't reach it! 'Jet: '*yells back but he can't hear* 'Scout: '''What?! '''Jet: '*lets go and holds Scout in his legs to try and reach the rods himself* *grabs one and passes it to Scout* 'Scout: '*attaches rod to latch* '''OR The rod wasn't secured well enough to one of his front paws, and it flew off, pulling the wing upwards and causing him to flip backwards. Scout yelled out to Atrix, who was half a mile ahead of him by now, as he careened down to a wide, viciously flowing river below. Frantically flapping his wing and trying to pull the other one back, he shut his eyes as he plummeted through the sky. His draw string was gone as well, as he hadn't thought to attach a parachute in his rush to catch up. Everything went silent. He blocked out everything, only hearing the ringing in his ears and seeing the blueness of the sky above him. This is it, he thought. This is the day I die. Suddenly, something grabbed him. He didn't stop falling, but he felt like he was being pulled. “Atrix…?” he murmured. No, it couldn't be. She's too far ahead. For a moment he sat, confused, but he felt more clearly a hand, not a paw, holding onto him. He looked up, and saw Jet, his arms wrapped around Scout's body and massive black wings trying to flap against the wind. “We're not dying today!” he grinned, as their descent slowed. Jet's wings were stronger than any canine wing Scout had ever seen, and easily thrice the size. The gusts created by the large feathery limbs was enough to rip two other rods from their hooks. It didn’t matter, though. The wings were attached still and they had started to gain altitude slowly. “Fix your suit!” Jet yelled above the wind. “You’re too heavy, I can’t keep this up for long!” Scout reached for one of the rods, stretching his paw as far as it could. “I can’t reach it!” Scout yelled back. Jet adorned a concerned look, before shouting something inintelligible back. “What?!” Scout tried to ask, but in that instant, Jet let go and Scout’s heart skipped a beat. Not a moment later, Scout found himself being held by Jet’s abnormally long legs, Jet himself trying his best to reach the rods while staying in flight. He grabbed ahold of one, passing it down to Scout, who then attached it securely to its latch. --- They both convey the same scene, but prose does a much better job of telling you what actually happened. Scripts are faster to write, but are sketchy and typically messy. For an outline for an audio-visual based medium, that's perfectly fine, as when it's drawn out and/or voice acted with sound effects, you'll be able to hear and see the things that had to be written out before. But when that audio-visual isn't there, you've got to ''compensate ''for that. Of course then there's ''bad ''prose which is another thing entirely... but practicing prose will help convey in more detail the setting, the characters and the story itself. Learning the intricacies of style, grammar, syntax, spelling, vocabulary, punctuation, and other nuances of the English language will go long ways in making your story immersive, interesting, involved and investing. Category:Blog posts Category:Blog posts